Microaggressions, Code-Switching, & High Functioning Anxiety

Scope note: This guide focuses on coping with the impact of microaggressions and code-switching on high functioning anxiety. It is not a replacement for workplace policy, legal advice, or DEI training (Sue et al., 2007a; Sue et al., 2019). *For the full reference list, please scroll all the way to the bottom.

Introduction

You look steady and capable on the outside. Inside, your mind runs hot. You keep a full calendar, meet the bar you set for yourself, and remember every detail that might slip through the cracks. People describe you as ambitious, meticulous, and organized. Yet when the room is quiet, your inner monologue is loud. You find yourself overthinking what you said, rehearsing what to say next, and bracing for comments about your name, your accent, or where you are “really” from. That mix often shows up in your body as jaw tension, a tight chest, a stomach that flips during family dinners, and sleep that breaks at 2 a.m. If you are the eldest daughter, the pressure to set the example can feel like a second job. You are both Asian and American, moving through spaces that ask you to fit in while holding values that taught you to carry a lot for others. None of this means you are failing. It means your nervous system has learned to stay on alert.

This post gives you a clear map. You will learn how to spot the patterns that spike anxiety, how to regulate your body in under two minutes, how to use a simple ACT process in real time, and how to try small CBT experiments you can actually finish. The goal is not to debate your worth. The goal is to protect your dignity and your energy and to move on purpose.

Why Microaggressions and Code-Switching Spike High Functioning Anxiety Symptoms

What are microaggressions?

Sue and colleagues defined microaggressions as brief, everyday exchanges, whether delivered consciously or unconsciously, that subtly disparage or insult a person of color because they belong to a racial minority group (Sue et al., 2007a). They identified three forms:

1. Microassaults. These are explicit and intentional racial derogations that are verbal, nonverbal, or environmental and intended to put down a person of color.
   Examples: the use of racial epithets, being denied a promotion despite demonstrated value while less tenured colleagues move ahead, or being shown caricatures that stereotype Asian features.

2. Microinsults. These tend to operate outside awareness and are comments or actions that communicate disrespect, insensitivity, or demean racial identity.
   Examples: being repeatedly confused for another Asian American colleague, being told “Why are you so quiet?” or “Speak up more,” or hearing “I am surprised you are not as soft spoken as most Asians I know.”

3. Microinvalidations. These also often occur outside awareness and refer to comments or behaviors that exclude, discredit, or invalidate the thoughts, emotions, and lived experiences of a person of color.
   Examples: a white person insisting on color blindness, being told Asians are the “new whites,” comments about your body that erase ethnic variation, being asked where you are from, or being told “You speak good English.”

Qualitative research conducted with Asian American adults documented those exact patterns and their psychological load (Sue et al., 2007b). Eight themes emerged within reported microaggressions: alien in own land, ascription of intelligence, exoticization of Asian women, invalidation of interethnic differences, denial of racial reality, pathologizing of cultural values and communication styles, second-class citizenship, and invisibility (Sue et al., 2007b; Tran & Lee, 2014).

Writer and professor Cathy Park Hong uses the phrase minor feelings to refer to the persistent background emotions, such as shame, irritation, and melancholy, that accumulate from subtle, chronic microaggressions (Hong, 2020). Both qualitative research and Hong’s work describe how Asian American experiences often involve ambiguity, invisibility, cognitive dissonance, and psychological distress, including heightened anxiety and sleep disruption (Sue et al., 2007a, 2007b; Hong, 2020). Naming this lived experience reduces self-blame, validates what you feel, and provides a bridge into skills that ease the load.

Why do microaggressions matter, and what do they do to anxiety?

Research on the brain’s threat-anticipation systems shows that anticipating pain or danger increases anxious arousal and vigilance (Abend et al., 2021). This matters because racism shows up along a continuum from subtle to overt, and repeated exposure is linked to higher anxiety, tension, and over-preparation in daily life, including patterns often labeled high functioning anxiety (Franks et al., 2024; Mekawi et al., 2017). Minority stress theory explains how stigmatized groups face chronic social stressors, from anticipating bias to directly experiencing it, which contributes to anxiety, depression, avoidance, and racial battle fatigue such as emotional exhaustion and cognitive strain (Meyer, 1995; Lei et al., 2022; Smith, 2004). Work during the COVID-19 pandemic found that perceived stigma and threat, including avoidance, exclusion, and harassment, predicted greater psychological distress for Asian American adults, including anxious arousal and sleep disruption (Ertorer, 2024; Franks et al., 2024).

Adding code-switching to the mix

W. E. B. Du Bois wrote about double consciousness, the felt split between how you see yourself and how a prejudiced society sees you. One consequence is code-switching, which is the ongoing self-monitoring you use to navigate different spaces. You adjust language, tone, grammar, behavior, and even dress to fit the room (Psych Central, 2021; UC Berkeley Graduate Division, 2023). Code-switching can help people of color move through social situations, workplaces, and schools. It also carries a cost. Studies link chronic impression management to emotional exhaustion, anxiety, and burnout, especially when values feel misaligned or when stereotype threat is high (Hewlin, 2009; Walton et al., 2015; Johnson et al., 2021). Constant self-monitoring to “fit” increases cognitive load and can keep your body in a low-level alarm state, even when you appear composed to others.

If you see yourself here and want support that fits your life, I offer AAPI-attuned therapy for anxiety, perfectionism, and people-pleasing. We will build a plan you can actually keep.

Body First: Three Early Cues and Quick Resets

When your body flags stress, do a small, specific calm-down so you can follow your plan.

Jaw. Clench, tight bite, temple ache. Sit tall. Rest your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Do one minute of box breathing: inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four. Let your jaw hang slightly at the end.

Chest. Tightness or shallow breath. Bring your shoulder blades gently toward each other, then release. Exhale a little longer than you inhale for five breaths. Notice if your shoulders drop.

Gut. Butterflies, queasy, cramps, urgency. Sit toward the edge of a chair. Hinge forward slightly. Rest a hand over your belly. Take three slow belly breaths and feel your hand move.

These moves do not fix the setting. They create enough ease to choose a response you respect.

The ACT Mini-Process For Real-Time Moments

To address the increased anxiety and other costs to your emotional well-being from navigating the world as an Asian American woman, use these three steps from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT):

1. Notice and name. Quietly label what is happening. “I am noticing more anxiety than usual. My body is trying to protect me.” If helpful, give the intensity a 0 to 10 rating to watch it change.

2. Unhook. Create a little space between you and the story. Write your thoughts on paper and see them as words on a page. Picture the thought as a leaf floating by on a stream. Or, do a five-senses check to anchor in the room.

3. Choose and move. Pick one core value for this moment, such as safety, connection, dignity, or integrity, and take one small step that fits that value. You can set a boundary, pause for five to ten seconds before responding, enlist an ally, or exit.

Research-Informed Microinterventions You Can Use

Once you have noticed, named, and unhooked, choose a values-aligned microintervention as a next step. Derald Wing Sue and colleagues describe simple, direct moves that targets and allies can use to disarm microaggressions (Sue et al., 2019).

Make the invisible visible.
Undermine the innuendo by naming it.
Examples: “I was born and raised here.” “That is a racist thing to say.” “What did you mean by that?”

Challenge or broaden the stereotype.
Examples: “That has not been my experience.” “Most people would do the same thing.” “Let us focus on the person, not a group.”

Disarm and redirect.
Express disagreement or describe what is happening.
Examples: “That is not how I see it.” “Every time this comes up, I feel uncomfortable because the comments are offensive.” “Maybe we should focus on the task at hand.” “We do not tolerate those comments here.” “Let’s take a break.”

Educate, if you have the bandwidth.
Differentiate intent and impact. Personalize the request. Reframe. Revisit later when the moment has cooled.
Examples: “I know you meant it to be funny, but stereotype is not a joke.” “Are you talking about someone in particular?” “Is there another way to look at this?” “I did not say anything last week because the timing felt off. Can we talk now?”

Enlist support or step out.
Loop in leadership where appropriate. Report the incident if needed. Seek validation and care from community, mentors, friends, or a therapist who practices culturally responsive care (Sue, 2009; Nadal, 2018). You are allowed to leave a room that is not safe.

Why Microaggressions and Code-Switching Can Intensify High Functioning Anxiety

This subheader names the pattern many AAPI women report. You can be doing well at work, present for your people, and still feel your system rev on a Sunday or before a new setting. Microaggressions add to the load. Code-switching keeps the load running. The practices in this post are a way to lighten it. They are small on purpose. Small moves are easier to repeat. Repetition is how your brain and body learn that you can face a moment without rehearsing all night (Johnson et al., 2021; Tran & Lee, 2014; Sue et al., 2007b).

When To Seek More Support

Reach out for more help if you notice any of the following for more than two weeks: trouble sleeping most nights, panic symptoms, avoidance that shrinks your life, or a guilt loop that will not loosen. Culturally responsive therapy matters. Outcomes improve when care attends to culture, language, and context (Sue, 2009). In our work, we name the impact of racism without pathologizing you. We tailor skills to your settings. We respect your ambition and your energy. We set up experiments you can actually do.

A Short Word About Community and Care

Your story is connected to the stories of many others. You are allowed to ask for help. You are allowed to bring a friend into the room. You are allowed to leave a room that is not safe. Rest is not a reward. Rest is how you sustain a life you actually want.

Conclusion

You do not need a perfect script to belong. You do not need to explain yourself until the other person agrees. You can correct your name once. You can skip a topic that drains you. You can leave a conversation and return when your body is steady. You can also allow support to meet you where you are. Over time, those small choices change the shape of your week. The gap between how you look and how you feel narrows. The Sunday spike softens. The room feels less like a test and more like a place you can inhabit as yourself.

If you want a partner in this work, I would be honored to help. My practice blends ACT and CBT with an AAPI-attuned lens so the steps you take are realistic and sustainable. We will design a plan that protects your dignity and your energy.

References

Abend, R., et al. (2021). Anticipatory threat and anxiety: A translational review. [Open-access review] Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8061736/

Alvarez, A. N., Juang, L. P., & Liang, C. T. H. (2006). Asian Americans and racism: When bad things happen to model minorities. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6904503_Asian_Americans_and_Racism_When_Bad_Things_Happen_to_Model_Minorities

Ertorer, R. (2024). Racism and mental health: Examining the psychological toll of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Genealogy, 8(3), 98. https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/8/3/98

Franks, A. S., Nguyen, R., Xiao, Y. J., & Abbott, D. M. (2024). Psychological distress and behavioral vigilance in response to minority stress and threat among members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community during the COVID-19 pandemic. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 14(3), 488–504. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14030033

Hewlin, P. F. (2009). Wearing the cloak: Antecedents and consequences of perceived identity-based impression management. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(6), 1261–1274. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19450009/

Hong, C. P. (2020). Minor feelings: An Asian American reckoning. One World.

Johnson, D. G., et al. (2021). Social-cognitive and affective antecedents of code-switching. Affective Science, 2(3), 295–312. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36046097/

Mekawi, Y., Heller, W., & Hunter, C.D. (2017). The costs of anticipating and perseverating about racism: Mechanisms of the associations between racial discrimination, anxious arousal, and low positive affect. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 41(4), 611–624. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34570550/

Meyer, I. H. (1995). Minority stress and mental health in gay men. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36(1), 38–56. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7738327/

Psych Central. (2021). Code-switching: What it is and what it costs us. Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/health/code-switching-what-it-is-and-what-it-costs-us

Roberson, Q. M., Holmes, O., & Perry, J. L. (2017). Stereotype threat in organizations: Implications for equity and performance. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 93–118. https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032414-111322

Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions in everyday life: Race, gender, and sexual orientation. Wiley.

Sue, D. W., Alsaidi, S., Awad, M. N., Glaeser, E., Calle, C. Z., & Mendez, N. (2019). Disarming racial microaggressions: Microintervention strategies for targets, White allies, and bystanders. American Psychologist, 74(1), 128–142. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000296

Sue, D. W., Bucceri, J. M., Lin, A. I., Nadal, K. L., & Torino, G. C. (2007). Racial microaggressions and the Asian American experience. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(1), 72–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.13.1.72

Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M. B., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271–286. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.4.271

Sue, S. (2009). The case for cultural competence in psychotherapeutic interventions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 525–548. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163651

Tran, A. G. T. T., & Lee, R. M. (2014). “You speak English well!” Asian Americans’ reactions to an exceptionalizing stereotype. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 61(3), 484–490. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000034

UC Berkeley Graduate Division. (2023, November 14). Let’s talk about code-switching: A double-edged sword (N. Sharma). Retrieved from https://grad.berkeley.edu/news/announcements/lets-talk-about-code-switching-a-double-edged-sword/

YES! Magazine. (2019, December 17). Code-switching is not trying to fit into White culture, it’s surviving it. Retrieved from https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2019/12/17/culture-code-switching